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vol. 73 issue 02
J U N E - J U LY 2 0 2 0
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A farmer smiles while listening to a mass leader during the SONA ng Bayan protest action
Photo by Marienel Calma
Cabalen youth defies Anti - Terror Bill By Jhon Marco Magdangal Student councils, organizations and three hundred students from various universities and colleges in Pampanga led by Anakbayan Pampanga signed a unity statement opposing the draconian and repressive Anti Terror Bill. In the unity statement posted in the official Facebook page of Anakbayan Pampanga, the group condemned the controversial bill asserting that the draconian provisions and measures in the bill will trample on democratic rights and freedom of speech.
“We, the united students and leaders from different Cabalen schools, colleges, universities and organizations in Pampanga, stand firmly against and vehemently condemn the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill,” Anakbayan stated. The signature campaign and the unity statement was joined by the University of the Philippines Diliman Extension, Holy Angel University University Student Council, Angeles University Foundation Student Council, Our Lady of Fatima University Student Council, Angeles City Sci-
ence High School Student Government, Chevalier School Supreme Government, Anakbayan HAU, League of Filipino Students HAU, Bahaghari HAU, Bahaghari San Fernando, Anakbayan AUF, Anakbayan, and The Angelite. The campaign also drew a total of 313 individual signatories composed of students from the aforementioned universities and colleges. Angelites opposes Terror Bill The University Student Council, the College Stu-
dent Councils (except for the College of Criminal Justice and Forensics), student publications and organizations of the University also showed their dissent in a unity statement to lay out the objections of the student body against the controversial bill. “This will weaponize the law and warrant the State to vehemently erode our civil rights and liberation enshrined in the constitution.” stated in the official statement posted by the University Student Council. Furthermore, the statement also pleads to the in-
cumbent congressmen in Pampanga to retract their vote. However, all of the Pampanga legislators voted yes except for one who claimed that he did not vote. Meanwhile, the Holy Angel University opposes the said bill as well. In an exclusive email to the Angelite the University President pleads to the government to focus on what is truly important and needed during this perilous time.
Student activists speak out against impunity for Independence Day Student activists in Angeles City gathered to protest in Plaza Miranda alongside the nationwide protest for the 122nd Philippine Independence Day. Physical distancing and other proper health measures were observed as activists from Bahaghari HAU, Anakbayan Pampanga, Kabataan Partylist Pampanga, College Editors Guild of the Philippines - Central Luzon, and other civilians engaged in the short protest action. “Lalong mahalaga ang pagiging outspoken ngayon dahil mas malalim na ang pagpapatahimik at
pagtugon ng dahas ng estado sa mga dissenters. Ibig sabihin ay sila mismo ang takot sa paglakas pa lalo ng boses ng masa, kung kaya’t mas lalo pa dapat itong palakasin,” Anakbayan HAU Chairperson Cheska Nolasco said. The peaceful demonstration calls to junk the Anti-Terrorism Bill as it can be twisted and abused to serve as a weapon by the state in the guise of its legality once passed as a law. Other calls from the protest include the overdue justice from the government’s incompetence in handling the COVID-19 pandemic as the people continue to struggle to
By Erica Clare B. Garcia make ends meet. More frontliners, OFWs, unemployed workers and their families are yet to be more recognized with sufficient help. “Ang ating pakikilahok sa mga isyung panlipunan [at mga protesta] ay tanda na ang kabataan sa ating henerasyon ang bumubuhay sa mga pahayag, na ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan,” HAU-BSEd student and chairperson of CEGPCL Denisse Macalino said in an interview. Police officers lingered around the area, taking pictures of the student activists themselves. Eyeing them, they were also followed after the dispersal and were
asked of their names and organizations. Nothing else proceeded afterwards. Notorious history of abuse The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) released a comprehensive report early this month about the widespread killings under the Duterte administration, stating that the government’s “heavy-handed” focus to diminish national security threats have led to severe human rights abuses while reinforced by the “harmful rhetoric” of government officials. According to World Report 2020: Philippines of
the Human Rights Watch, state security forces and government-backed paramilitaries continue to harass, threaten, arbitrarily arrest, and in some instances attack and kill political activists, environmentalists, community leaders, and journalists. With the Anti-Terror Bill yet to be signed, critics are concerned for the law that would allow arrest without warrant, longer detention, gained power of the executive branch, and the possibility that anyone could be tagged as a terrorist by the authorities, duly suppressing basic rights such as freedom of expression.
